Poultry News

India Adds Cock-Fighting Chicken to Indigenous Breeds List

26 August 2016

INDIA - India has added nine new germplasm of farm animals including a poultry variety to its list of indigenous breeds. Newly enlisted live-stocks include one breed of cattle, two breeds each of goat and sheep, three breeds of pig, writes Basudev Mahapatra.

Of the animals registered this year, the ‘Badri cattle,’ seen in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand, are “well adapted to the hilly terrain and climatic conditions and comparatively more resistant to diseases,” a release issued by the government said.

Two goat breeds include the ‘Teressa Goat’ of the Nicobar Islands and the ‘Kodi Adu Goat,’ native to Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu.

While the breed of ‘Chevaadu sheep’ is found in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, the ‘Kendrapada sheep’ is seen in the coastal districts of Odisha.

Among the three pig breeds, the ‘Tenyi Vo pig’ is reared in Nagaland for pork production. The ‘Nicobari pig’ is a fast runner variety from the Nicobar Islands and the ‘Doom pig,’ with a short concave snout, is native to the Assam state.

The poultry breed enlisted this year is the ‘Kaunayen chicken’ (pictured above) that has an elongated body with a long neck and long legs. Used for cock-fighting as well, this breed is mostly seen in the north-eastern valley regions of India.

Such registration of breeds creates a sense of ownership among local communities responsible for development of breeds and helps in improvement, conservation and sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources, said Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of Indian Council for Agricultural Research.